It’s never nice to kick your own when they’re down Mark McHugh took absolutely no satisfaction in relegating his native Donegal from Division 1 of the FL last Sunday.
As Roscommon coach under Davy Burke, McHugh was forced to put all county allegiances aside (his younger brother Ryan is still involved with Donegal) as the Rossies sought to land their fourth win in the top tier but it was far from easy.
McHugh, an All-Star when Donegal last won the All-Ireland SFC title in 2012 under Jim McGuinness, has played a leading role with the Rossies so far this season but he hopes that he doesn’t end up in the same position again.
Roscommon gave a beleaguered Donegal – who parted ways with their manager Paddy Carr just last week and are a county seemingly in disarray – a fair hammering in Dr Hyde Park, 0-21 to 0-9, as they sentenced them to relegation.
“It’s a bitter-sweet day as a Donegal man,” McHugh told Ocean FM of his struggles with the fixture. “You don’t ever want to see Donegal like that.
“Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is. I didn’t enjoy today. I didn’t enjoy being against some of my (Kilcar) club-mates there – Brian (O’Donnell) and Paddy (McBrearty).
“It’s not easy. You do a professional job. That’s part of the gig. I just hope it doesn’t happen again.”
After exceeding most people’s expectations by maintaining their Division 1 status in emphatic fashion. the Roscommon focus now switches to a juicy Connacht SFC quarter-final against Mayo on Sunday week, April in MacHale Park, Castlebar.
“Job number one for us this year was trying to retain that Division 1 status,” McHugh said.
“Roscommon have been known for being that up-and-down team for a long time. It wasn’t guaranteed until we actually won today.
“It’s a big monkey off our back. It’s only two weeks to prepare for Mayo.”
